Revision Note

BIMSTEC Members and Security Cooperation

Exam-ready note on BIMSTEC membership, institutional milestones and the 13 October 2026 Delhi Declaration on security cooperation.

Published
2026-10-16
Status
Published

Concept / Definition

BIMSTEC means Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. Members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The inaugural Home Ministers’ Meeting took place in New Delhi on 13 October 2026 and adopted the Delhi Declaration.

Exam-Ready Points

  • The 2018 Kathmandu Summit decided to hold Home Ministers’ meetings; the 2025 Bangkok Summit welcomed the mechanism.
  • A BIMSTEC security convention entered into force in March 2021.
  • A separate mutual legal assistance convention was signed in March 2022.
  • Proposed legal texts still require finalisation.

Likely Common Mistakes

  • Excluding landlocked Bhutan or Nepal from membership.
  • Treating signature as proof of entry into force.
  • Treating proposed conventions as completed treaties.

Self-Check Questions

  1. Which seven countries belong to BIMSTEC?
  2. What was adopted in New Delhi on 13 October 2026?
  3. What is the difference between signing and entry into force?

Revision time: 6–8 minutes.